(CARLSBAD, Calif.) - GIA has announced that Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds, is piloting the Institute’s M2M program.

“The M2M program is a way to share with the consumer the story of our diamonds,” said Sergey Ivanov, CEO of Alrosa. “The creation of tracing systems is an important step in confirming diamond provenance, which will have benefits for industry participants, retailers and ultimately retail consumers. Alrosa is examining different tracing solutions available on the market to provide consumers with supreme confidence and knowledge.”

According to GIA, consumers are exhibiting greater interest in the origin of the diamonds they purchase. The M2M program allows the retailer, and ultimately the consumer, to trace the journey of a diamond, adding to its story at each point along the value chain. The M2M program allows for the individual characteristics of a polished stone, and its unique journey, to be shared with consumers using a mobile application, together with traditional diamond grading reports.

“We are very pleased to welcome Alrosa to the M2M program,” said Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer. “Dozens of retailers and several manufacturers are signed up, and we continue to engage other diamond producers as part of the initiative.”

M2M is a digital platform that brings together GIA’s unique ability to scientifically match rough diamonds to the resulting polished gems with information from each step in the value chain that tells the compelling story of a diamond’s journey. Having completed an earlier pilot phase of the program, GIA has processed thousands of rough diamonds ranging from one carat up to more than 100 carats.